Compass 10pm tonight......an exciting time

Well, finally the Australian screening of Bloodlines is about to happen - tonight at 10 pm on Compass, ABC 1. I am very curious to see how the film is received, and what the ratings will be.

The pre-publicity has been exciting with a highlight being the great 2 page story in Who weekly magazine, pg 34. Right in the middle of a best and worst fashion edition of a mainstream publication is the Bloodlines story!

I feel very grateful to all the people who have supported making the film, and the new ones who are now helping it get out there!

It is also possible to vote for Bloodlines in an online womens filmfestival at www.indie-fest.com/WOW until 29th September. This would be much appreciated.

Comments welcome.

Festivals in the USA/Israel

The Boston Jewish Film festival has invited Bloodlines to screen in early November, and the Hot Springs Documentary Festival in Arkansas is featuring the film in October. They also wanted me to be there but it is on at the same time as the Israeli festival, and i haven't yet worked out how to be in two places at once.

Bettina and Ruth are preparing for their visit to Israel and we are discovering stories of Germans with Nazi backgrounds who have converted to Judaism and now live in Israel. I am deepening my understanding of the human rights issues within Israel today, it is a complex situation.

Going to Israel in October

Exciting news - myself, Bettina Goering and Ruth Rich will be going to Israel in October. The Jewish Eye World Jewish Film Festival will be screening Bloodlines twice during the festival, held from 22nd - 30th October in Ashkelon, a city on the coast not far from Tel Aviv. See our links page to check out the festival.

Oded Guy, the festival director, has arranged comprehensive media coverage including a TV story and a feature article in a national newspaper. So we will be busy with lots of press interviews to let everyone know about Bloodlines and the story of Ruth and Bettina.

I will be doing some filming while I am there, to capture whatever unfolds during our visit.

Ruth's powerful paintings of her family in the Holocaust, which drew Bettina to meet Ruth, will be flown over courtesy of the Israeli embassy and exhibited in the cinema exhibition foyer.

This is a wonderful opportunity for the film to be seen and discussed and hopefully it will provoke a desire for reconciliation where that is needed.

Facing the past to heal the future

Bloodlines screened yesterday at the Activating Human Rights Film Festival. For me it was the first screening open to the public and I was both nervous and excited to see the response. It went very well - people were moved by the film. We had a question and answer session after the screening, with myself and Ruth Rich, and people spoke about personal issues in their own family history as well as wanting to know more about the process Ruth and Bettina went through.

I was pleased to see that the resonance of the film included both facing the genocide of the Holocaust and healing any traumas carried down through generations. I believe Bloodlines shows that facing the past can heal the present and lead to a different future.

The depth of the questions and contributions went beyond my expectations, and I can't wait for the next screening!

Activating Human Rights Film Festival

Bloodlines is being screened in my old home town, Byron Bay, next Saturday July 5th as part of the Activating Human Rights Film Festival. It is connected with a 4 day international conference on human rights and peace. I am honored Bloodlines will be presented in this context as we always intended the film to be a beacon of possibility for people in need of reconciliation, both with the 'enemy' outside and the 'demons' within. It is about one of the worst abuses of human rights in modern history, the Holocaust. And it has a hopeful ending.